Mueller offers to limit investigators' questions for Trump

By Carol Leonnig

Updated2 August 2018 — 2:47pmfirst published at 2:44pm

Washington: It appears Russia probe Special Counsel Robert Mueller is willing to reduce the number of questions his investigators would pose to US President Donald Trump in an interview, in an effort to convince Trump's lawyers about a presidential sit-down, according to two people briefed on the negotiations.

The latest proposal by the special counsel comes after a long stand-off and as Trump has stepped up his attacks on his investigation and on Mueller personally.

Mueller has been seeking to question the President as part of his probe into Russia interference in the 2016 campaign, which is also examining whether Trump has sought to block that probe.

In a letter sent on Monday, Mueller's team suggested that investigators would reduce the number of questions about potential obstruction of justice they would ask in person and instead seek some answers in written form, according to one person.

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Mueller is still seeking to press Trump on topics related to obstruction, including some questions about the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey, but not as many as Mueller originally sought.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants his team to interview Donald Trump.Credit:AP

The two sides have been at an impasse since March, when Mueller raised the possible threat of subpoenaing the President.

Trump's legal team had sought to set specific conditions on an interview and make central topics off limits - conditions they believed would be dealbreakers for the special counsel. Among them: that Mueller not ask any questions about actions Trump has taken as president, including his private discussions with Comey.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told The Washington Post earlier this month that he believed such questions could unfairly expose Trump to claims of perjury.

Former FBI director James Comey.Credit:Bloomberg

Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's layers, declined to comment on the new Mueller proposal and whether the Trump team might accept the offer.

Giuliani told reporters in New Hampshire on Wednesday said that Trump remained willing to be interviewed if the lawyers can agree on ground rules.

"I'm not going to give you a lot of hope it's going to happen," he said on CNN. "But we're still negotiating."

"He's always been interested in testifying," he added. "It's us - meaning the team of lawyers, including me - that have the most reservations about that."

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel's office, declined to comment.

President Donald Trump sits with Attorney-General Jeff Sessions during the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony in Quantico, Virginia, in December. Credit:AP

In the wake of the proposal by Mueller's team, Trump stepped up his assault on the investigation, tweeting Wednesday that Attorney-General Jeff Sessions should shut it down 'right now'.

The Republican President, who has long complained about the criminal probe into his White House victory, said the idea that his campaign worked with Moscow was a "TOTAL HOAX" in a series of tweets aimed at undermining the integrity of Mueller's investigation.

"This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!" he wrote. He provided no evidence that the team led by Mueller, a Republican appointed by Republicans, is biased against him.

When Mueller first proposed a presidential interview in late December, Trump said he was keen to do it. He told his lawyers he wanted to clear up any questions Mueller had and believed he could put to rest questions about whether his campaign coordinated with Russia in the 2016 election.

Posters of people who have pleaded guilty in Robert Mueller's probe are shown during a joint House committee hearing in Washington.Credit:Bloomberg

But Trump's lawyers have been wary of a sit-down with prosecutors. Giuliani has repeatedly warned that such an interview would expose Trump to legal danger, saying that if he made any misstep or if Mueller later determined that other witnesses were more credible than Trump about what he had said and done, the President could face accusations of perjury.

In negotiations with Mueller this spring, Trump's legal team sought a deal in which the President could provide written answers to some of the special counsel's questions. They also pressed Mueller's investigators to demonstrate that they could not obtain the information they were seeking without interviewing the President.